Write a brief essay describing your ideas about what inquiry is and how it fits into your teaching of science. What do you believe are the benefits and challenges of inquiry teaching and learning? How does inquiry fit in the NGSS?

Prior to reading the articles, I backed up to some of the NGSS Science Standard trainings that I have attended over the previous year. The phrase “inquiry based learning” was not a stranger to the ears of the listeners. As an educator trying to get a strong handle on the NGSS for my own classroom teachings, I relate inquiry based learning to the students designing/ constructing an approach to investigate a road for learning. Students must determine what skill to use while breaking down practical ways to solve a complex situation. Students will understand how and when to use investigation strategies, know how to build and design models, and how to lead themselves down a road of inquiry that allows them to pick and choose exactly how they want to piece together the parts of a puzzle. Whether a student chooses the right or wrong direction to approach a situation, the reflection from this skill that was applied to try to solve the situation, in my opinion, is a key piece to inquiry based learning.